Mother’s Day Salt Dough Ornaments

By contributing writer Beth

Nothing melts a mommy’s heart like a homemade craft from her little ones. This Mother’s Day salt dough ornament/plaque is perfect for kiddos big and small to show mom they care. 

We use this salt dough recipe. It’s easy to create with only flour, salt, and water. Half of that recipe was plenty for us to make four of these ornaments.

Supplies Needed

• 1/2 of a the salt dough recipe
• rolling pin
• non-stick baking mat
• large heart shaped cookie cutter
• straw
• cookie sheet
• acrylic paint (we used DecoArt Americana in Desert Turquoise, Black, and White)
• brushes
• 24 inches oribbon

Instructions

1. Prepare the salt dough as directed.

2. Roll. On the non-stick baking mat, use your rolling pin to roll out the dough to 1/4-inch thickness.

3. Cut out hearts with the cookie cutter, and remove extra dough from around them so the hearts don’t get moved at all.

4. Cut holes. Use the straw to cut out ribbon holes in the top corners of the dough. We found it best to get about 1/4 inch away from the heart’s edge. If you cut the hole any closer, the dough on the top edge could be too flimsy to hold the weight of the plaque.

5. Press. With clean hands, press a palm or set of fingerprints into the dough to form a solid impression. When helping a child do this, I hold their wrist in place with one hand so they don’t wiggle. Then I gently press each finger solidly to form a nice impression without making the dough too thin.

6. Bake. Carefully move the baking mat and dough to a cookie sheet. Bake at 200 degrees for 4 – 6 hours until they are completely dry. After they’re finished baking, remove from the oven and let them cool completely before painting.

7. Paint. Using your favorite color of acrylic paint, cover the top and sides of the plaque completely. I use the same non-stick mat to paint on because it’s super easy to clean.

Now mix a very little bit of the white with your favorite color. Use this to highlight the upward edges of each impression.

Mix a tiny dot of black paint with your favorite color and apply to the very middle part of the handprint. Now firmly press the child’s clean fingers onto the print to accentuate the ridges and valleys of the little ones handprint. Their hand will pick up some of the paint and leave a nice, detailed impression.

For a finishing touch, gently brush the very tops of the area between each finger with pure white paint. This will give a great highlight to the area and keep it from getting too muddy looking.

8. Label. Use paint or a sharpie to write the child’s name, age, and the date on the back of the plaque to commemorate the event. Allow the paint to dry completely before going to the next step.

9. Add ribbon. Tie a bow in one side of the ribbon.

Now lace the untied end through the plaque so the bow ends on the front.

Next, lace the other end of the ribbon to come through (back to front) on the other hole. Tie a bow on that side and pull the slack up to the back.

Your Mother’s Day salt dough ornament is ready for gifting! 

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